James patterson



.iaivinsr'artrnnsou or HoRNELLsvIL-LE, vNEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 94,970, dated September l, 1869.

4 To all whom it may conci-rn Y Be it known that I, VJanus Pllrr'rnnsox, of Hornellsville, in the county of Steuben, and Stateof New.

Railroad Tracks; and I do hereby declare that the fol-v lowing is a'full and exact description thereof.

It has been foiind by experience that a frog fulfils' its function better and endures longer, it' made light, than if made very., massive. light. Its mode of construction is peculiarlytavorable to this quality. 1t has also other merits of great importance, as will appear further on. I will first describe what I consider the best means of carrying out my invention', and will afterwards designate the points 4which l believe to benew therein.

s The accompanying drawmgs form a part of this specification; V

Figure l is a plan view of the frow- Figure 2 is a side elevation; Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section;-

. up into the positions represented by other dies, so as to lap upon and hold0 the rails l and wings B in the manner indicated. Spikes may also beemployed, as indicated' by a u', to hold Jthe part-s against end motion.

The rails B B are lapped npoiui t-hc bed A, and are secured thereon against lateral inoveinenthpartly by the turned-np portions a and thezspikes a', and part-ly by being held by the frog-tongue, or point.

The wings may be formed oi' similar rails, indicated by B B. The wings are also held laterally by similar means, that is, by the trug-tongue, and by the parts a and spikesa. The wings B may, i.t` preterred, be bent. continuationsof the rails, against which they arc represent-ed as abutting; but in suoli case it is ob- `viously important that the junction be formed by an angle., inst xad of by a gradual curve.V V

`1 somewhat prefer making `t-he parts B and B of entirely separate pieces of material. .Thewings B may be all stoel, or they' maybe rails plated with steel, as economy or other considerations shall dictate. There is less necessity tor making the rails B of steel, though vthis 'is well. y l y v The frog-point, or tongue shall indicate as a whole by G, ,and its several parts by O1, C?, &c. The active My frog is `extremely Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line S S of lig.. l

' frog tongue.

The` Schedule referred to in the'se Letters Patent and making part of the same. n

portion of the tongue, or point is indicated by C1. The

whole is, by preference, made of Cast-steel, of good quality. tween the rails at that end, as indicated by C2, and is adapted to" match at each side against the surface of the rails, so as to assist in holding the rails at that end of the frog, both vertically and laterally. The working-portion Cl ot' the tongue is flanked by two webs, C G, which extend along each side ot' its base, and projectv a good distance beyond the end ofthe working-portion of` the point. These webs C C3 are adapt-ed to tit upon, and thus to aid in holding, both vertically and laterally, the wings B. The webs C" extend the bend, or the junction of thc wings B with rails B, as represented.

Having made the frog-point thus toV aid in holding the rails and wings in position, it is obviously important to provide very eflicient means of holding the ti-ogpoint itself. This I effect by means of two keys, D

D2, which are driven across under the bed A, and lock `down the frog-point bypassing lthrough lugs C* 0".

These lugs are formed on the underside of the frogpoi'nt, and form a portion of the saine steel casting. They arenarrow, but deep and strong, and drop into corresponding apertures, punched `by machinery or otherwise, produced in thcabed A.

The bed A and its entire dependencies may be mounted `on a sub-bed of material, which may possess any desired degree of elasticity, or yielding property, if preferred.

In order toremove the( frogtongue, or to liberate the parts which areheld by it, it is necessary simply to suii'iciently remove the earth or other material adjacent to the base, and todrive back vor remove -entirely the keys D1 D2. slight loosening of these keys will, under proper 4conditions in other respects, liberate the rails or the wings. An entire remo 'al of the keys allows all the parts, including the entire frogpoint, or tongue, to be readily removed for repairs or for the substitution of new part-s. y

rlhe light bed A may, if preferred, be made of tough `cast-iron, taking care to produce the parts a ,in the proper form and position. y

A quality of very great importancel have left to vbe described last. This is the hollow interior of the is represented in strong lines in tie. 3,and in dotted lines in tie. l; It contributes greatly tothe lightness of the construction, and not only condnces to economy in the manufacture, but promotes materially the slight springiness ofthe parts, which I esteem so conducive to the dnraliility both of the frog and of the rollingl .stock which passes -over it.A The `springiness due to thelightness of the bed and the other parts differs substantially .from that due to the introduction of In-v The large end of the tongue is extended be- I This hollow is indicated by m, and,`

dia. rubber or analogous elastic material under a. heavy frog. A heavy frog has inertia, which resists concus sions independently of any elasticity in the support thereof. My light frog has, less inertia. 'It may be used on any patent or other foundation; but, whether resting on nu elastic or rigid support, possesses in it' self an inherent springiness, which, though slight, con tributes very materially to soften coneussons, in en analogous manner to the eectfwhich would in such ense be injurious) of making an anvil hollow and eX- tremely light.

l claim- `1. VThe part C, extending from the broad end of the frogfpoint, and matching to the adjacent rail-ends,

so as to aid in supporting the same laterally und ver? tically, and to form an attachment for the holdingdown lug C, as herein shown.

2. The webs 0 3 C, extendingalong the base of the frog-point and beyond the end of the working-portion thereof, and serving the double function,v rstfof aiding to support the wings, both vertically and laterally, and, second, of forming a. junction for the luge C5, ns and for the purposes herein shown and described.

` In testimony whereof LI have hereunto set my name, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES PATTERSON.

Witnesses C. C. LrvINes, W. G. DEY.v 

